Recommended Resources: 3D

We utilize numerous tools and services on Tuts+, as well as teach how to use them through regularly published educational material on this site. Here are our top recommended resources for CG professionals, which is put together by our editorial staff.

Note that some of the links below are affiliate links. This simply means we'll earn a small commission if you purchase that particular tool or service. If you do, we thank you for supporting Tuts+.

CINEMA 4D Studio is the very best that MAXON has to offer for professional 3D artists. If you want to create advanced 3D graphics but need a helping hand to ensure you create jaw-dropping graphics quickly and easily, then this is the choice for you. Learn more over at Toolfarm.

V-Ray for 3ds Max is the core development of Chaos Group, which allows users to quickly and easily create realistic images while giving them full control over the 3D production process. It offers a fast rendering solution, which combines the power of the distinguished V-Ray rendering engine with the flexibility and unprecedented speed of the interactive rendering system V-Ray RT, now running on GPUs. Learn more over at Toolfarm.

ZBrush from Pixologic gives you all of the tools needed to quickly sketch out a 2D or 3D concept and then take that idea all the way to completion. You can create realistic renders directly in ZBrush with lighting and atmospheric effects. With the ability to sculpt up to a billion polygons, ZBrush allows you to create limited only by your imagination. Learn more over at Toolfarm.

Fusion is a full-featured, node-based compositing system. Fusion has been battle tested the world over and is renowned as a highly interactive 3D compositing system. It's the Swiss Army knife of post production, with legendary rendering performance and versatile, feature-rich toolset that excels in getting the job done quickly and efficiently. Learn more over at Toolfarm.

Vue xStream offers professional CG artists a complete toolset for creating and rendering exceptionally rich and realistic natural environments in 3ds Max, Maya, LightWave, Cinema 4D and Softimage. Access all the power of the world's leading 3D Digital Nature solution directly from within your favorite application. Learn more over at Toolfarm.

RealFlow is a unique fluids and body dynamics software package which allows you to simulate anything from a single drop of water to a massive tsunami. RealFlow has been definitive fluid simulation software for over 15 years. It's compatible with ALL major 3D platforms. RealFlow's cutting-edge hybrid grid/particle solver, Hybrido, provides you with endless possibilities, and it's packed with additional tools. Learn more over at Toolfarm.

NUKE is the original compositing tool from The Foundry. It provides the stable foundation from which to deliver the creative vision of the most forward-thinking directors, helping to meet tight deadlines, and manage quality, scale and efficiency in a robust production pipeline. Learn more over at The Foundary.

Blender is 3D creation for everyone, free to use for any purpose. With it's wide toolset you can model, shade, animate, render, composite, and work in interactive 3D. Take control of your 3D work with this flexible and consistent user interface. Learn more over at Blender.org.

Once you've refined your skills with UDK from Epic Games, you'll be ready to make mind-blowing, fully licensed Unreal Engine 3 games. Every aspect of the Unreal Engine 3 game development toolset has been designed with ease of content creation and programming in mind, with the goal of putting as much power as possible in the hands of artists and designers. Learn more over at UDK.

Plugins

FumeFX 3.0 offers many innovations and artist-friendly improvements that provide unique control over the simulation. Features such as a GPU accelerated Preview Window, simulation of nested grids, support for Space Warp deformers and newly added Effectors will allow you to approach VFX scene construction in a completely different and more flexible manner. Learn more over at Toolfarm.

Thinking Particles 5 packs more than 10 years of product development and engineering into one massive procedural dynamics effects system for 3ds Max. Thinking Particles is a total approach to non linear procedural dynamics effects animation makes it stand out as the number one choice of tool for professional Artists in the industry. Learn more over at Toolfarm.

Stock 3D Assets

3DOcean is an Envato Marketplace. At 3DOcean you can buy and sell royalty-free 3D models, textures, concepts, and materials and shaders. 3DOcean is an Envato Marketplace and sister site to Tuts+. Items are priced on the complexity, quality and use of the file. Learn more over at 3DOcean.